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Albright Care Services Loses Friend, Generous Supporter

April 19, 2007

H. Daniel Baylor, a beloved friend and generous supporter of Albright Care Services (ACS), died Thursday, February 1, 2007, at the age of 82.  He was best known in the community as co-founder, with his wife, Audrey, and their family, of Country Cupboard Restaurant and Market on Route 15 north of Lewisburg.

Many of the ACS staff and residents knew Dan to be a kindhearted person who was always willing to help out or give advice where he could.  In 1987, a fire at Riverview Manor on the campus of RiverWoods Senior Living Community, forced all of the residents and staff to evacuate the building.  Hearing of this tragedy, Dan and his family graciously invited the residents to stay in their recently opened Best Western Inn, located next to the Country Cupboard Restaurant.  A kitchen was set up in the basement of the hotel, and a rotation of several members of the Riverview Manor staff tended to the residents at all times during the four months it took to renovate the building.  Some of the administrative staff even worked out of the hotel for awhile.

Mr. Baylor was also well known within the area and the corporation for having a keen business sense.  He often gave business advice and helped others start businesses of their own.  In 1963 when Dan was preparing to launch his first business, he developed a scale model of a building that was to become Farmer’s Best Restaurant on the eastern shore of the Susquehanna River near Lewisburg.  He and two partners opened for business on October 7, 1963.  More than 600 people showed up, despite the fact that there had been little advertising and it rained the entire day.  Good food, quality merchandise, and attention to detail were the hallmarks of its success.

Following 1972, Dan sold his interest in Farmer’s Best to his partners.  The Baylor family bought several acres along Route 15 from Albright Care Services.  Gary Baylor, son of Dan and Audrey, says that because of the willingness of the Albright Board to sell them land, which was hard to come by in those days, “there has always been a special bond between Country Cupboard and Albright Care Services.”  Country Cupboard opened on June 10, 1973.  At that time, the restaurant consisted of a main dining room, banquet facility, lobby, and a gift shop.  Dan was responsible for the restaurant, and Audrey for the gift shop.  The children helped out at all levels.  An addition was added onto the gift shop in 1983, and the Best Western Inn was built in 1986.  This was also the year that the Baylors bought the Reitz farm, west of Lewisburg, and developed it into the Brookpark Residential and Commercial Complex.  Today, a third generation of family is involved in the operation of the business.

Dan always believed that, “if you have a good business idea and no money, money will flow to the idea.”  His success bears testimony to his belief.

The late Dick Bender, a former Garden Cottage resident at RiverWoods and Chaplain at RiverWoods from 1979 to 1998, was a good friend of Mr. Baylor’s.  “I knew Dan for 26 years, and he was always willing to help anyone in need,” Dick commented.  “His mother-in-law and father lived in the Nursing Care Center on campus, which was one of the reasons why he was such a great friend and supporter of RiverWoods.”   

Mr. Baylor was a member of the Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Lewisburg and served as a Sunday school teacher, superintendent, and church council member.  He was also a member and past president of the Union County Heart Association and helped to conduct campaigns for the Evangelical Hospital, Boy Scouts of America, the Public Library for Union county, and various other organizations.  Dan will be missed, but his legacy of generosity will live on.